Toughie No 3772 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Thanks to Sparks for a very enjoyable puzzle containing some cunning bits of misdirection.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Across Clues
1a Teams in groups dance several miles, seemingly walking or running (8,7)
FOOTBALL LEAGUES: a formal dance and more than one old measure of distance are cryptically ‘on foot’ (in an across clue).
9a Character abroad working tiny drills (7)
OMICRON: an adjective meaning tiny drills into an adverb meaning working.
10a Critical “name” declining to cover golf (7)
NAGGING: the abbreviation for name and a present participle meaning declining contain Nato’s golf.
11a Organ female will enjoy (5-4)
SHELL-LIKE: the contracted form of ‘a female will’ and a verb to enjoy.
12a Perhaps past numbers yet to be uncovered (5)
TENSE: two-digit numbers and ‘yet’ without its covering letters.
13a Lost ship, one captured by China (7)
MISSING: our usual abbreviated ship and the Roman one are contained in a type of Chinese porcelain.
15a Take away tons, lugged back (7)
DETRACT: the abbreviation for tons and a verb meaning lugged all reversed.
17a Fraud avoiding Charlie around large prison (7)
SLAMMER: a fraud or con artist loses the letter that Charlie represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet and contains the abbreviation for large.
19a One who forcefully puts down fool (7)
PLONKER: double definition.
21a Remind, say, horse to withdraw (5)
NUDGE: join an abbreviation meaning ‘say’ and a greyish-brown horse and reverse it all.
23a What should hold fast hacks and stallion (5,4)
PRESS STUD: a word for hacks or ‘the fourth estate’ and a stallion kept for breeding.
25a Efficacious Germany fuelled heartless bombing (7)
DEEDFUL: the IVR code for Germany and an anagram (bombing) of FUE[l]LED.
26a Raise tax in leaderless free-for-all (7)
ELEVATE: insert a type of sales tax into a word for a confused scuffle without its leading letter.
27a Vacuous student accepted in rigmarole by university fails degree? (8,7)
BUSINESS STUDIES: the outer letters of student go inside a word for a rigmarole or complex matter, an abbreviation for university and a verb meaning fails or conks out.
Down Clues
1d Wreckage half noted to contain a large amount (7)
FLOTSAM: the first half of an adjective meaning noted or celebrated contains a large amount.
2d Compound source of meat and fish (5)
OXIDE: an animal that is a source of meat and a fish of the carp family.
3d Be wrong about poor Reilly (9)
BERYLLIUM: an adjective meaning wrong or dud (as in “you’ve played a *** note”) contains an anagram (poor) of REILLY.
4d Part of flight? Yes and no (7)
LANDING: part of a flight of stairs but not part of an aircraft’s flight.
5d Oil source filled around Kent area (7)
LINSEED: an adjective meaning filled or packed contains the abbreviation for the Kent area.
6d In prime spots, manage sports anxiety (5)
ANGST: the first five prime numbers are 2,3,5,7 and 11.
7d Standard fake junk on CIA (5,4)
UNION JACK: an anagram (fake) of JUNK ON CIA.
8d Maybe pig appointed to protect FBI agents (7)
SEGMENT: a verb meaning appointed or specified contains an informal term for FBI agents. Who knew that pig is a slang word for part of an orange? Apparently this is derived from the fact that these cluster tightly inside the rind in a way that resembles a litter of fat little piglets.
14d Also wearing small tartan trousers in which there are many holes (2,7)
ST ANDREWS: a conjunction meaning ‘also’ is contained in the abbreviation for small and a type of close-fitting tartan trousers.
16d Artist supporting onset of Trade Union collection (9)
TROUSSEAU: the surname of Henri the French post-impressionist artist follows the first letter of trade.
17d Polish expert identifies fish (4,3)
SAND DAB: a verb to polish and an informal adjective meaning expert (often followed by ‘hand’).
18d Waves slipper about (7)
RIPPLES: an anagram (about) of SLIPPER.
19d Wobble quietly then break (7)
PRECESS: the abbreviation for quietly followed by the type of break that our Parliament enjoys every so often. The answer (new to me) means to wobble like a spinning top.
20d Composer Richard Strauss, at last under new order, holds good (7)
RODGERS: the final letter of Strauss follows an anagram (new) of ORDER containing the abbreviation for good to make the surname of composer Richard.
22d Small element of self-indulgence (5)
ELFIN: hidden.
24d Indian meal that falls short on claim intermittently (5)
THALI: ‘that’ is truncated and followed by the regular letters of ‘claim’.
The clues I ticked were 11a, 3d, 14d and 16d with my favourite being the clever 1a. Which one(s) did it for you?
A most entertaining puzzle that was surprisingly gentle. The only one that I checked on google was 8d.
Top three for me were 1a, 11a, and 14d.
Many thanks to Sparks and Gazza.
1.5*/4*
Took a while to get a proper start on this one, eventually working my way up from the bottom. Not sure why I struggled at first, it’s probably a wavelength issue.
That said, I wasn’t entirely sure if the definition was the first or the last word in 17a, and I didn’t parse the prime part of 6d.
Highlights for me were the organ at 11a, the Rodneyesque fool at 19a, 1d’s half noted wreckage and the small tartan trousers worn in 14d.
A decent mental workout, my thanks to Sparks and Gazza.
A few went in quickly; it was toughI and absorbing, but I got there in the end with quite a few only partly parsed. I thought that 4d was an essential part of an aircraft journey, but reached only after ascent of the stairs, but it probably works both way. My favourite was the organ at 11a which I thought .was slang. I only knew one person who used it, and that was 50 years ago. Thanks Sparks and Gazza
You could be right about 4d but as you say it probably works both ways.
4d. This is a tricky one. After touchdown the landing process begins and the plane is no longer in flight but back on terra firma. But maybe the “flight” begins when you get on the plane and lasts until you alight? Generally, a landing isn’t technically part of a fligh of stairs but a level platform between individual filights, often an area of flooring pre-fitted before the staircases which are made off-site in a joiners shop. But there are instances of stair flights including integral landings – for example a cantilevered fire-escape with flights and short landings all installed together as a prefabricated kit. On balance, I reckon Gazza has got it right.
I was about to throw in the towel early doors but persevered and managed to finish with a modicum of electronic assistance. The NE held me up for the longest and whilst 6d was obvious once I had the checkers I would never in a zillion years associated the prime numbers. As for 10a, I question the synonymity of the answer with “critical”. I needed to check that the fish was real at 17d, but otherwise it was a question of building on the checkers and reverse parsing. I liked Rodney at 19a and the standard at 7d.
For me a completed Friday Toughie is akin to gold dust so mustn’t complain.
Many thanks to Sparks and Gazza
I found the right hand side friendlier than the left but finished in 3* time. Definitely 4* entertainment with lots of excellent misdirection including 11a
Thanks very much to Sparks and Gazza – I agree with your parsing of 4d
We learnt something new in 8d which became our favourite in this chuckle-worthy enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks Sparks and Gazza
Very much enjoyed the tussle – found it tricky but not as demanding as Wednesday’s one. That said I needed Mr G to confirm/understand a number of unfamiliarities – the words at 19d&25a, the Indian meal rang a 🔔 but couldn’t recall what it was & hadn’t a scooby what 8d had to do with a 🐷.
Ticks aplenty – 1,11&27a + 1,3,6&14d the standouts for me with perhaps predictably 14d my fav (with 10 courses to choose from there’s a lot of holes….)
Thanks to Sparks & as ever to Gazza.